Victoria’s Secret & Co. projected profit for the current quarter that trailed Wall Street’s expectations — a hit to the fledgling turnaround being led by a chief executive officer in her first year.
The lingerie retailer expects adjusted net income to be between flat and 15 cents a share. Analysts on average projected revenue of $1.4 billion and adjusted earnings of 29 cents a share. Its sales forecast met estimates.
Shares fell less than 1 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock had declined about 46 percent this year through Tuesday’s close.
The guidance shows how CEO Hillary Super’s turnaround strategy to make the retailer’s brands more appealing with younger shoppers needs more time. One way Super, who started in September, is doing that is by trying to regain the company’s authority in bras by expanding the assortment and boosting marketing.
Super’s job has been made harder by outside forces, including US tariffs on imports from Asia, where it sources some goods. There’s been weakening consumer spending and a big investor pushing for board changes.
And last month in response a security incident, the retailer took its e-commerce operation offline for three days. The company has said it could impact results in the current quarter, but didn’t provide more details in the earnings release.
For the full year, the company maintained its sales forecast, but reduced its view on adjusted operating income to as much as $320 million from a high of $350 million. The retailer said the impact from tariffs would be about $50 million this year.
The retailer had reported preliminary results for the first quarter last week of $1.35 billion in sales and adjusted earnings of 9 cents a share. The company reiterated that on Wednesday.
By Lily Meier
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